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The hibiscus flowers on 2015 and 2017 Overall GT Drivers’ ‘Europe’ champion Chantal Prinz’ helmet design have been a mainstay in the 24H SERIES paddock for more than a decade now, and got a revamp in 2022 alongside Hofor-Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3. Inspired by a trip to the tropics, looks like won’t be going anywhere any time soon either…
Images – Nico Mombaerts / Petr Frýba
[Laughs] “That’s by accident, actually! My old white helmet before this, it came in white, and I added the stickers so that it would match the old car. But the new Mercedes is carbon, and my new helmet came with this carbon look. So honestly, it was just coincidence!”
“Well, we did change colour of my flowers so that everything would match, but, yes.”
“I wanted [the design] the way it is now, but Alex [Prinz, Chantal’s husband] did it for me! It’s not sprayed. Everything is stickered.
“This design was like a developmental process because, as I said, the new Bell helmet came ‘in’ carbon. At first I wanted to have another design, but when I started wearing it – just the carbon, and a few flowers – almost everybody said, ‘leave it that way, it looks great!’ Okay! If everyone else likes it, and I like it, why change it?!”
“The hibiscus flowers have always been on my helmet. I found the hibiscus flower when I was travelling to Hawaii years ago. And I really liked the flower itself and what it represents. In Hawaii, you can get them everywhere. It’s also the ‘state flower’ of Hawaii, so it’s a symbol of hospitality – for visitors – but also for power and respect. And that kind of matches our racing team spirit too.” *
*Look closely at the #11 Mercedes’ front fenders, and you’ll notice a couple of hibiscus flowers have been incorporated into the design there too.
“I have the pink flowers now because we chose the colour pink for our car, and I wanted them to match. We knew that we wanted a ‘pointy’ colour anyway for the car’s new [livery], and the pink was good because it also represents our sponsor – TEN Informatik – which you can see on the rear wing. So everything kind of matches.”
“That might be a better question for Alex, because he’s very into his own helmet design. He does [the design] himself, and then he hands that over to the [paint service], who make it perfect. For him, his helmet design is really, really, really important, so he will probably stick with his own for some time.
“Actually he has new colours too, and has added a bit of pink to match our car. But that might be as close as we get: he loves his own design, and I’m really happy with my flowers. I don’t need more, and I can update or add to it whenever I want without spoiling the overall look.”
“I personally think simple is better. Interestingly, a while ago, Alex created a design for my helmet in other colours, and in fact, he came up with the same design for my father [Michael Kroll] and my uncle [Martin Kroll], all in different colours. He still has those drawings, but in the end, I liked my helmet the way it was in black carbon – I think it looks really strong – so I decided against a new design. I like it this way. It’s very ‘me,’ I think.”
You can also check out this interview in our 2024 Hankook 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS magazine, available for digital download below.
